Overview
Digital Form and Workflow Enables Distribution of Nearly $20M in Federal Funds
In spring 2020, the City of North Las Vegas secured $23.8 million in federal CARES Act funding to help residents and businesses stay afloat. The city needed to distribute that money quickly while meeting strict auditing and documentation requirements, and it repurposed its Libraries Department staff to learn the federal rules and process tens of thousands of submissions in just a few weeks, all while citizens and staff worked remotely.
“We knew we’d receive a deluge of applications right out of the gate, so whatever form and process we put in place had to shield our citizens and employees from the natural complexities of delivering a federal grant program. It was a must that we make the user experience intuitive for applicants, and that we give our team members tools that help keep track of the many documents and extensive back-and-forth on the back end.”
Dennis Moriarty
IT Director, North Las Vegas
Impact
- 83% of CARES Act funds distributed, highest in Nevada
- $20M delivered to the community
- 400+ labor hours saved
Challenge
- The COVID-19 pandemic stalled businesses and left residents uncertain about their income
- $23.8M in CARES Act aid needed to reach small businesses and renters quickly
- The city had to convert a paper-based process to a fully digital one
- No time for a lengthy rip-and-replace implementation
- Library staff, not grant specialists, needed a user-friendly way to review applications remotely
Solution
- A forms wizard broke the CARES Act's comprehensive application into a navigable online format
- Applicants completed the form from any device
- A portal allowed easy upload of proofs of hardship, W-9s, lease agreements, mortgage statements, and other supporting documents
- Spanish-language capability made the application accessible to more residents
- Automated routing sent applications to library staff for review, then to finance to issue payment, with alerts generated at each stage
- A central dashboard let staff track the status of every application at any point in the process
Results
- Distributed 83% of total allotted CARES Act dollars, the highest percentage of any agency in Nevada
- Delivered nearly $20 million to the community, including $7 million in rental and utility assistance
- Saved 400+ personnel hours in labor
- Built and launched to the public in less than three weeks
“Our CARES programs were literal lifesavers for our businesses and residents, and without SimpliGov, we would not have been able to provide so much assistance so quickly and efficiently. Our CARES programs proved to taxpayers that we had their backs.”
Dennis Moriarty
IT Director, North Las Vegas
City of North Las Vegas
Population
280,543
Use Case
Grant Distribution
Department
Libraries, Finance
Municipality
City